[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8838-8839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02882]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2639-028]


Northern States Power Company--Wisconsin; Notice Soliciting 
Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: P-2639-028.
    c. Date filed: November 30, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Northern States Power Company--Wisconsin.
    e. Name of Project: Cornell Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Lower Chippewa 
River in the township of Cornell, Chippewa County, Wisconsin.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Donald R. Hartinger, Director, Hydro Plants, 
1414 W Hamilton Avenue, P.O. Box 8; Eau Claire, WI 54701; 
[email protected]; (612) 321-3063.
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Davis at (202) 502-8339; or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: March 8, 2023.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You 
must include your name and contact information at the end of your 
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-2639-028.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing 
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each 
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an 
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to 
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a 
particular resource agency, they must

[[Page 8839]]

also serve a copy of the document on that resource agency.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. Project Description: The project consists of the following 
existing facilities: (1) a reservoir having 985 acres surface area, 
gross storage capacity of 8,000 acre-feet and a net storage capacity of 
1,500 acre-feet at a maximum normal water surface elevation of 1,002.0 
National Geodetic Vertical Datum 1929 (NGVD); (2) an 861-foot-long 
earth and concrete dam including: (a) a 42-foot-wide east concrete non-
overflow section with a top elevation of 1,010.0 feet NGVD, (b) a 131-
foot-long, 151.5-foot-wide, 82-foot-high powerhouse-intake structure 
containing three horizontal shaft turbine-generators rated at 10 
megawatts each and one vertical shaft turbine-generator rated at 750 
kilowatts, (c) an 85-foot-long gated spillway containing two 37-foot-
wide by 23.3-foot-high Tainter gates with top of pier elevation of 
1,008.0 feet NGVD, (d) a 10-foot-long non-overflow concrete dam section 
with a top elevation of 1,004.2 feet NGVD, (e) a 292-foot-long gated 
spillway containing 12 20-foot-long by 16-foot-high steel Tainter gates 
with a top of pier elevation of 1,004.2 feet NGVD, (f) a 210-foot-long 
by 28-foot-high overflow concrete section topped with 48-inch-high 
flashboards with top of flashboard elevation of 1,002.2 feet NGVD, and 
(g) a 91-foot-long west earthen embankment with a top elevation of 
1,010.0 feet NGVD; (3) four 160-foot-long, 7.2-kilovolt (kV) 
transmission lines connecting the powerhouse to an adjacent project 
owned substation that is the point of interconnection to a 115-kV 
distribution line belonging to the Northern States Power Company--
Wisconsin; and (4) appurtenant facilities. The project average annual 
generation between 2016 and 2020 was 113,839 megawatt hours.
    m. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well 
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., scoping document) via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) using 
the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number, excluding the last 
three digits, in the docket number field to access the document (P-
2639). For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or 
call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, (202) 502-8659.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    n. Scoping Process:
    Commission staff will prepare either an environmental assessment 
(EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) that describes and 
evaluates the probable effects, if any, of the licensee's proposed 
action and alternatives. The EA or EIS will consider environmental 
impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. The 
Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of 
analysis and satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the Commission prepares 
an EA or an EIS. At this time, we do not anticipate holding on-site 
scoping meetings. Instead, we are soliciting written comments and 
suggestions on the preliminary list of issues and alternatives to be 
addressed in the NEPA document, as described in scoping document 1 
(SD1), issued February 6, 2023.
    Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in 
the NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may 
be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' 
link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the 
docket number field to access the document. For assistance, call 1-866-
208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: February 6, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-02882 Filed 2-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P